Baseball Hosts Rhode Island in Big A-10 Series

Following a split of its mid-week contests, the Fordham baseball team returns to conference action starting Friday, as the Rams host the Rhode Island Rams at Houlihan Park for a three-game series.
 
Fordham (17-17, 4-2) has gotten on a roll as of late, winning 11 of its last 17 games, which included taking two of three contests from La Salle this past weekend.  Rhode Island enters the series at 12-15 overall and also has a 4-2 conference mark after they grabbed two of three games from VCU.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS/GAME COVERAGE:
Friday – RHP Kirk Haynes, Jr. (3-1, 2.93) vs. LHP Tyler Wilson (5-1, 4.46) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
 
Saturday - RHP Greg Weissert (1-3, 3.82) vs. LHP Steve Moyers (2-4, 3.83) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Audio
 
Sunday - RHP Joseph Serrapica (1-4, 4.01) vs. RHP Ben Wessel (2-2, 6.69) // Twitter Feed - @FordhamBaseball | Live Stats | Live Audio
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Battle of the Rams has been a regular match-up since 1996, when Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 conference, as only three meetings came before then, the first of which came in 1913.  Rhode Island holds a slim 28-27 series advantage, courtesy of a 7-3 win in the Atlantic 10 Championship last year.  URI has captured six of the last seven meetings over the last three years.

 
RAMS HOLDING FUNDRAISER THIS COMING TUESDAY: For the second straight year, the Fordham baseball team is holding a fundraiser for the Vs. Cancer Foundation to Cure Kids' Cancer in conjunction with their 6:00 PM game against Fairfield at Houlihan Park. Members of the team will be shaving their heads after the game to support the cause.  The Rams hope to beat their mark of over $14,000 raised last year. To help the team this year, go to their team page & Donate Now!
 
LAST TIME OUT: Siena's Jordan Bishop and Jordan Folgers both homered, while Chris Amorosi threw three innings of two-hit relief, as the Saints held off a late rally by the Fordham Rams to capture a 4-2 win at Houlihan Park on Wednesday.
 
The Rams took the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning.  Joseph DeVito started the inning with a base hit through the left side, and moved to second when Jason Lundy was hit by a pitch.  Ryan McNally then looped a single down the left field line to score DeVito for a 1-0 lead.
 
Siena knotted the game at one in the fifth on an RBI-single by Jordan Bishop, and then grabbed a 2-1 edge in the sixth on a solo home run to left by Jordan Folgers, his second of the year.
 
The Saints added to the lead in the top of the seventh, scoring twice on a two-run home run by Bishop, his first of the year, making it a 4-1 game.
 
The score stayed that way until the ninth, where Fordham attempted to rally back.  Pat Gardner drew a walk to start the inning and moved to second on a walk to DeVito.  After a fly out, Lundy singled through the right side, scoring Gardner from second with DeVito going to third.  However, Siena reliever Chris Amorosi struck out McNally and got Luke Stampfl to ground out to third to end the game for the 4-2 win.
 
Fordham reliever Parker Barnell (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits in 2.1 innings of work.  Joseph Serrapica started the game, pitching a scoreless first inning, followed by three innings of one-hit relief with three strikeouts by Reiss Knehr.  Ryan Remo (1.2 IP, 1 H) and Anthony DiMeglio (1 IP, 3 K's) finished out the game for the Rams.
 
At the plate, McNally was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while DeVito was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.
 
WE'RE GOING STREAKIN': Senior Joseph Runco is hitting .324 (23-71) over the last 17 contests with five doubles, two triples, 14 RBI, and five stolen bases… Junior Luke Stampfl is batting .327 (16-49) over his last 15 games, notching 11 runs scored, two home runs, and 11 RBI... Graduate student Ryan McNally has a .345 batting average over his last 16 games (20-58) with 14 runs scored, six doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI… Junior Kirk Haynes, Jr. is 3-1 in his last four appearances with a 2.39 ERA and 19 strikeouts over 26.1 innings of work… Senior Joseph Serrapica is 1-0 with a save and a 1.71 ERA in his last seven outings, posting 27 strikeouts in 21 innings… Senior Jimmy Murphy has a 1-1 record with a 2.08 ERA in 17.1 innings with 15 strikeouts.